 Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation, Water are only a few of the basic services we continually rely on day after day, services that enable us to heat or cool our homes, talk to one another over the telephone, travel to work, and even have clean water to drink. With our increasing dependence upon critical infrastructure comes an unavoidable expansion in complexity as these sectors seek to build upon their already stretched capacity to provide new services and products to a growing population. Information Technology (IT) is only a small part of our mission critical industries. Communication and energy are linked together with IT, so we talk about ICT (Information –Communication Technology). Without energy, no computer is running. Without computer, we have a communication breakdown. Furthermore, without Computer, we cannot control our power plants, which mean we will have no energy. All these linked infrastructures become more and more complex – and their dependency on ICT is growing even faster. Therefore, they become a target for many different attackers – from Criminals to Terrorists. Terrorism is more than just physical attacks - it can also take the form of electronic attacks on vital information or communications systems. Both physical and electronic attacks can be carried out, directly or indirectly, by an 'insider', or by someone with specialist knowledge or access. Terrorism also includes threats or hoaxes intended to frighten and intimidate. Unlike most competitors, GNSEC Singapore offers customized ICT/ICS security services, with a focus on Governments, operator of critical Infrastructure and multinational Companies. Typical sectors are Transport, Energy, Chemical, Communication and Financial Industry, as well as the automobile industry, with its complex linked international structures and its high dependency on ICT technologies. Almost all critical
industrial infrastructures and processes are managed remotely from
central
control rooms, using computers and communications networks. The flow of
gas and
oil through pipes; the processing and distribution of water; the
management of the
electricity grid; the operation of chemical plants; and the signaling
network
for railways – these all use various forms of process control or
"supervisory control and data acquisition" - SCADA / ICS technology.
Until
recently, the term SCADA was unknown outside its niche area in
industry. Today
it is one of the key issues for infrastructure protection.
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